Adrian Gonzalez to sign 7-year, $164 million contract, says report

Associated PressAdrian Gonzalez works out in Fort Myers, Fla. as news breaks of a looming announcement of the Red Sox extending his contract for seven years and $164 million, according to a Fox Sports report.

Rosenthal's piece looked at the potential ultimate results stemming from yesterday's passed deadline in the St. Louis Cardinals' attempts to strike a deal with Albert Pujols, who's playing in the final year of his current deal and will hit the free agency market following the 2011 season.

Rosenthal goes into the potential of a Pujols-for-Mark Teixeira or Ryan Howard deal, which seem ridiculous on the surface. Rosenthal notes that trading Pujols would solve many, many problems for the Cardinals --- and the slugger, himself.

But none of that matters for Red Sox fans. They have their man and it appears he will, indeed, be the man for quite some time.

The deal, which has been rumored as a gentlemen's agreement since the Red Sox pulled off the trade with the San Diego Padres that brought the lefthanded Gonzalez to Boston, still won't be announced until after Opening Day. The timing of the official announcement, of course, will allow the Red Sox to avoid additional luxury tax penalties.

Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston, however, looked at the possibility today of bringing Pujols to Boston and ushering in the post-Big Papi era.

Given their offseason histories, it does stand to reason the the Red Sox and Yankees ---among a handful of other teams --- will remain in the Pujols sweepstakes, despite their current or future situations at the first base position. Edes considered:

...Ask yourself this: When haven't the Red Sox gotten involved in the bidding for the biggest name out there? They had Nomar Garciaparra and tried to upgrade to Alex Rodriguez. They thought they had bagged Mark Teixeira, and were stunned when he went to the Yankees. They heard all the assumptions that Crawford was going to Anaheim and left the Angels gasping.

Regardless of the timing or if Pujols ends up with the Red Sox, however, fans can rejoice in keeping the 27-year-old, power-hitting, slick-fielding Gonzo in Boston through 2018.